Japan, Taiwan sign deal on bilateral loan of museum artifacts

Japan and Taiwan signed a deal on Wednesday allowing the former to exhibit hundreds of artifacts from the National Palace Museum of Taiwan. Japan will also loan more than a hundred of its artifacts for an exhibition in Taiwan. The bilateral agreement is said to be the largest exhibit in terms of scale.

As part of the deal, the National Palace Museum will be lending 231 of its items to the Tokyo National Museum and the Kyushu National Museum in Dazaifu, Fukuoka Prefecture. Items from the Taipei-based museum ranged from calligraphy, embroidery, paintings, and sculptures. Also included are two of the museum’s prized “Three Treasures:” the jadeite cabbage, which is identical to a bokchoy cabbage with two insects – a locust and katydid – atop of it, and a meat-shaped stone from the Ch’ing Dynasty (1644-1911). Both have never been on display overseas.

The Chinese artifacts, taken by Taiwan’s first president Chiang Kai-Shek from China, will be on display at the Tokyo National Museum for 12 weeks beginning June until September next year and at the Kyushu National Museum for 8 weeks from October to November. However, the jadeite cabbage will only be on exhibit in Tokyo while the meat-shaped stone will only be on exhibit in Dazaifu for two weeks each.

Japanese and Taiwanese representatives present at the signing of contract on Wednesday were Taiwan’s National Palace Museum Director Feng Ming-Chu, Tokyo National Museum Executive Director Masami Zeniya, and Kyushu National Museum Executive Director Karoku Miwa with Lee Chia-Chin, Chairman of the Association of East Asian Relations and Japan’s representative to Taiwan Sumio Tarui.

According to Lee, the bilateral agreement is “the largest ever” for an exhibit when it comes to scale. It is also the first for Taiwan to allow lending its artifacts to an Asian country. The National Palace Museum has only held overseas exhibits in four countries – Austria, France, Germany, and the United States – all required to enact laws prior to exhibit to guarantee safe return of artifacts in Taiwan and without being seized by China. Japan has also enacted a law back in March 2011 addressing Taiwan’s concern. In return, Japan will also loan 150 of its artifacts and artworks, including 68 national treasures, from the Tokyo National Museum and the Kyushu National Museum. The Japanese exhibit in Taipei will be held beginning October 2016 until January 2017.

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